Neat update article on Trajan Langdon

[banksbordr]

neat

Langdon wins Euroleague Final Four MVP
By Ian Whittell
Special to ESPN.com


MADRID, Spain -- Suddenly, as Trajan Langdon collected his MVP trophy from former Real Madrid legend Walter Szczerbiak and the 2,500 fans who had made the long journey from Moscow began their delirious celebrations, it all made perfect sense.



Some 3,500 miles away in Langdon's homeland, Szczerbiak's son, Wally, is in the middle of a playoff run with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the very team Langdon left after three injury-plagued, largely unfulfilling years.



Sunday night in Madrid, Langdon's decision to build a new life, a new career for himself on a different continent and in a country so far from home, turning his back on every young American ballers' dream in the process, looked inspired.



Winner of his second Euroleague Final Four in three years, Langdon's 21 points and seven rebounds made him the MVP of an ultimately comfortable 91-77 victory for CSKA Moscow over Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv at Madrid's Palacio de Deportes.



"This is top two," said Langdon when asked to rank the performance among his career highlights, which also featured a 1999 NCAA Final Four appearance with Duke. "The one we won two years ago in Prague was just as big, but every time you win a championship, they just get better."


Tellingly, and understandably, Langdon made no reference to basketball highlights from his "other" life, from home on the other side of the Atlantic.



"Home" for Langdon is now Russia, and despite several NBA scouts' analysis this weekend that the 31-year-old (32 next week) could easily still be a solid player in their league, the 6-foot-3 guard admits the thought no longer crosses his mind.



Trajan Langdon played in Cleveland for three years before becoming a star in Europe.
"A couple of years ago I did," Langdon said when asked if he thought of returning home and trying to catch on with an NBA team. "Now I realize this is where I am. I've been successful here, I've been very blessed to be successful here.



"I've had the opportunity to play at a high level here in Europe for a long time, with a great organization, with great people. I've gained experiences I never would have if I had stayed in the NBA.



"Would it have been great to stay in the NBA and have a long, successful career there? Sure. But I've been blessed to have this opportunity."



As for the simple question as to whether his NBA life is over? "As a player? Yes," Langdon said. "Obviously, post-career, we will see what happens. But as a player, my calling is over here and I enjoy it. It is a place I can come, where I'm respected as a player in terms of the success I've had."

[kobe080]

yea that's very nice.
it's always sad to see some lottery pick busts.
I wonder what happened to William Avery?